Serious Sam: Shatterverse is real, and it looks like Devolver Digital is taking the long-running shooter series in a very different direction. Revealed during the latest Xbox Partner Preview, the new game is a co-op FPS from Behaviour Interactive, the studio best known for Dead by Daylight, and it is set to launch later this year on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Instead of sticking to the old straight-line format, Serious Sam: Shatterverse reworks the series into a multiplayer roguelite shooter where multiple versions of Sam Stone team up across fractured universes. It is still built around oversized guns, huge enemy waves, and dumb, in the best possible way, action, but the structure is clearly trying to push the series in a new direction.
A multiverse twist on Serious Sam’s usual mayhem
The setup behind Serious Sam: Shatterverse is simple enough. Mental has shattered the walls between universes, which means different versions of Sam now have to work together to fix the mess and stop his latest plan. That gives Behaviour Interactive an excuse to build the game around multiverse co-op, with up to five players joining forces to push through shifting runs and take down Mental’s lieutenants.
That is a pretty big shift for the series. Serious Sam has always been about movement, pressure, and absurd amounts of enemies rushing straight at you. Shatterverse seems to keep that core intact, but wraps it in a roguelite structure with run modifiers, changing universes, and stacked boons that can alter how each run plays out.
If it works, it could be a smart update. If it doesn’t, it risks sanding down what made Serious Sam feel so direct in the first place.
Behaviour wants to respect the past without copying it
What makes this reveal more interesting is who is making it. Behaviour Interactive is not a studio most people would have expected to handle Serious Sam, but Croteam co-creator Davor Hunski says the original team supports the project and sees it as a bold new take on the series.
That matters because Serious Sam: Shatterverse is not pretending to be a nostalgic remake. It is using the series’ identity as a base while clearly moving toward something more modern. Behaviour says the goal was to respect the franchise while giving it a fresh interpretation, and that seems to be exactly what this is.
Whether longtime fans actually want that is another question, but at least the game has a clear angle.
Big guns, shifting runs, and the same old backpedaling
The gameplay pitch still sounds like Serious Sam at heart. Players will use a mix of classic weapons and new gear pulled from the Shatterverse, fight through large arenas, and deal with constant pressure from massive hordes of enemies. Behaviour is also leaning into the series’ usual rhythm of retreating while unloading everything you have into an advancing wall of monsters.
The newer additions come from the roguelite side. Runs will shift procedurally across hand-crafted arenas, with hidden portals, unstable anomalies, and high-risk opportunities that can either boost a run or kill it outright. There are also permanent upgrades and modifiers that expand what players can do over time.
That combination could work well for co-op. A game like Serious Sam: Shatterverse does not need subtlety. It just needs enough variety and enough chaos to make repeated runs worth sticking with.
A risky but interesting direction for the series
The good news is that Serious Sam: Shatterverse does not look timid. Making a co-op roguelite shooter out of a classic run-and-gun franchise is the kind of idea that could fail badly, but it is at least more interesting than another safe sequel.
The bigger concern is tone and feel. Serious Sam lives and dies on speed, weapon feedback, and the dumb joy of surviving impossible fights by barely keeping ahead of the crowd. If Behaviour can keep that intact while making the roguelite systems worth caring about, this could be a solid reinvention. If not, it may end up feeling like a stranger wearing Sam’s face.
Either way, it is one of the more unexpected reveals from the showcase.
